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How much to feed a kitten

F

Falloutboy

Diamond Member
so me and my fiance (well she did I just chose this a battle not to fight) adopted a stray kitten. good little guy, figured him 6 weeks when we got him. was pretty sick (upper recipitory, ear mights, worms...etc) brought him to the vet, vet thought we were about right ta 6weeks then he checked his mouth and told us its closer to 4 months. well we got him on meds and he is pretty healthy and eating up a storm. he was just under 2 pounds at his checkup (vet said he should be closer to 4 by this point) not sure now a week later but he is getting quite the belly. should I just let him eat what he wants since he is so small and underweight? or should I start limiting him?
 
Cats are not like dogs. They wont gorge themselves on whatevers available. Just leave plenty of food in his dish. He'll eat what he needs.
Change the water frequently.
 
Cats feed off the souls of sleeping humans. As long as their is someone in your place at night your kitten will feed.
 
shortylickens said:
Cats are not like dogs. They wont gorge themselves on whatevers available. Just leave plenty of food in his dish. He'll eat what he needs.
Change the water frequently.
Click to expand...

^^^

Congrats on the kitten. They're lots of fun(and not a small amount of frustration :^D )
 
Falloutboy said:
so me and my fiance (well she did I just chose this a battle not to fight) adopted a stray kitten. good little guy, figured him 6 weeks when we got him. was pretty sick (upper recipitory, ear mights, worms...etc) brought him to the vet, vet thought we were about right ta 6weeks then he checked his mouth and told us its closer to 4 months. well we got him on meds and he is pretty healthy and eating up a storm. he was just under 2 pounds at his checkup (vet said he should be closer to 4 by this point) not sure now a week later but he is getting quite the belly. should I just let him eat what he wants since he is so small and underweight? or should I start limiting him?
Click to expand...

we had a similar experience with our cat when we got it.

we got it from a shelter, and they said it had a history of chronic respiratory infections, so we got it for free.

it was severely underweight when we got it... we found out later that it refused to eat the hard food they gave it. guess she didn't like the flavor. put out some canned tuna, gobbled it right down. we just kept putting out food, and eventually it fattened up properly and grew to the correct size.

now she doesn't eat so much. but that's her limiting herself rather than us dictating for her. she eats a little less than a can a day now, but when we got her she was eating 1.5-2 cans a day.
 
shortylickens said:
Cats are not like dogs. They wont gorge themselves on whatevers available. Just leave plenty of food in his dish. He'll eat what he needs.
Change the water frequently.
Click to expand...

funny thing is we have a cat and a dog already. I adopted my cat as an adult and was very overweight, got him down to somewhat a healthy weight but I have to limit his food intake quite a bit.

then my fiance has a Boston Terrier, we leave food out for her all day long in one of those auto dispense things and he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him.
 
Falloutboy said:
funny thing is we have a cat and a dog already. I adopted my cat as an adult and was very overweight, got him down to somewhat a healthy weight but I have to limit his food intake quite a bit.
Click to expand...

There's exceptions to everything. It could be a psychological issue where he was deprived of food for awhile, so he's wired in to hording as much as possible. Or maybe he just likes eating. Typical American :^D
 
Falloutboy said:
so me and my fiance (well she did I just chose this a battle not to fight) adopted a stray kitten. good little guy, figured him 6 weeks when we got him. was pretty sick (upper recipitory, ear mights, worms...etc) brought him to the vet, vet thought we were about right ta 6weeks then he checked his mouth and told us its closer to 4 months. well we got him on meds and he is pretty healthy and eating up a storm. he was just under 2 pounds at his checkup (vet said he should be closer to 4 by this point) not sure now a week later but he is getting quite the belly. should I just let him eat what he wants since he is so small and underweight? or should I start limiting him?
Click to expand...

I have cat that we thought was 6-8 weeks old, but turned out to be 6months old and near death(1.2lbs). Your vet should tell you how much your cat should be eating. Don't let it eat what it wants, because then its going to develop a habit and will quickly get and stay obese.

Also, if the belly looks bloated it may be an instestinal issue(parasite or not adjusting to the food) so if its bloated looking you might want to go back to the vet and get it checked out.
 
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shortylickens said:
Cats are not like dogs. They wont gorge themselves on whatevers available. Just leave plenty of food in his dish. He'll eat what he needs.
Change the water frequently.
Click to expand...

Thats completely wrong. Most cats will gorge, thats why the majority of house cats are obese.
 
Wreckem said:
Thats completely wrong. Most cats will gorge, thats why the majority of house cats are obese.
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My cats have never overeaten, and they never have an empty food bowl. The only time they gorge themselves is if the food bowl hasn't been filled in awhile, and then they usually puke.
 
lxskllr said:
My cats have never overeaten, and they never have an empty food bowl. The only time they gorge themselves is if the food bowl hasn't been filled in awhile, and then they usually puke.
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Its a learned habit. If you over feed a kitten, it will continue to overeat its entire life unless you prevent it from doing so.
 
also whats your guy's opinons on declawing. this little guy is kinda an asshole to the rest of the pets in the house. basically think honeybadger of the cat world. My big cat was declawed before I got him. but basically picture a 2 pound kitten attacking and getting what he wants from a 15 pound yet still pretty spy cat. and the dog had one tussle and was like screw this and won't go near him.
 
Wreckem said:
Its a learned habit. If you over feed a kitten, it will continue to overeat its entire life unless you prevent it from doing so.
Click to expand...

My first cat I got at about 4 weeks old, and the two I have now I got at ~8 weeks. All three have been very svelte. They put on a bit of weight when the weather gets cool, but they're still very fit. I keep my house cool, so it's a natural effect.
 
Falloutboy said:
also whats your guy's opinons on declawing. this little guy is kinda an asshole to the rest of the pets in the house. basically think honeybadger of the cat world. My big cat was declawed before I got him. but basically picture a 2 pound kitten attacking and getting what he wants from a 15 pound yet still pretty spy cat. and the dog had one tussle and was like screw this and won't go near him.
Click to expand...

I'm 100% against declawing. It's how cats manipulate things, and is part of their identity. Kittens use their claws more because they're practicing for the hunt. It'll chill out as it gets older, but you still have to be aware of the sharp parts. A cat will always use it's claws to relieve tension, and to play.
 
lxskllr said:
My first cat I got at about 4 weeks old, and the two I have now I got at ~8 weeks. All three have been very svelte. They put on a bit of weight when the weather gets cool, but they're still very fit. I keep my house cool, so it's a natural effect.
Click to expand...

~40-45% of house cats in the US are obese.
~65-70% are either obese or overweight.
 
Let him have as much as he wants right now. After a year (or when he's neutered), you might consider limiting in take, but for now, he needs all he can get to catch up wright and grow.

As for his claws, kittens need to be taught what's ok and what's not ok for force of rough-housing etc. teach him, I do not recommend declawing as it's equivalent to removing the first joint of your fingers. There can be some nasty side effects, such as biting and bad litterbox behavior.
 
shortylickens said:
Cats are not like dogs. They wont gorge themselves on whatevers available. Just leave plenty of food in his dish. He'll eat what he needs.
Change the water frequently.
Click to expand...

naw dogs don't always gorge, if boring kibble is kept on hand all the time and the dog never fears scarcity they won't touch it until they are hungry. treats on the other hand...
 
Falloutboy said:
also whats your guy's opinons on declawing. this little guy is kinda an asshole to the rest of the pets in the house. basically think honeybadger of the cat world. My big cat was declawed before I got him. but basically picture a 2 pound kitten attacking and getting what he wants from a 15 pound yet still pretty spy cat. and the dog had one tussle and was like screw this and won't go near him.
Click to expand...

I don't like it. Cats are suppose to have claws. Trim them and find him a scratching post he likes.

Declawing, is much worse than it sounds. It's a lot more than just removing the claws; it's removing the last toe joint.

Had one cat where the previous owner had him declawed, and he always walked funny because of that.
 
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